Grazing cattle are helping conserve the prairie

South Sound prairies have been managed by people for tens of thousands of years. The First Peoples of this land maintained the prairies by burning them to remove overgrown grasses, prevent Douglas fir from taking over, and create open spaces for wildflowers to set seed and grow. And over thousands of years, the plants that grow here evolved to thrive in this environment.

The only reason these prairies still exist today is because people continue to manage these prairies. Managed fires are still used to maintain prairies, but there are limits to this option. Mowing, spraying, and hand-pulling invasive plants are other options more commonly used today to restore and enhance prairies. But there are trade-offs. It takes a lot of time and money to mow, spray, and weed thousands of acres of prairie, and it's often not practical given the scope of prairie habitat that needs to be maintained.

That's where our cattle come in. Using conservation grazing, we're able to strategically graze prairie habitats to get rid of excess grass and create the right environment for native plants to grow and thrive. As a side benefit, this also helps with wildfire mitigation by eliminating the dense, overgrown dead grass that creates greater wildfire risk. And, it helps us raise the highest-quality grass-fed, grass-finished beef that feeds our local school districts, food banks, and families. 

See this article in The Olympian for more about how we're using conservation grazing at the WDFW Violet Prairie Unit to help restore the prairie and accomplish Washington's conservation goals.